The present invention relates to disposable absorbent articles, such as sanitary napkins, panty liners, and the like that are adapted to be worn in a thong style undergarment.
Sanitary napkins having side flaps are disclosed in the literature and are commercially available in the marketplace. Generally, the flaps extend laterally from the side edges of a central absorbent structure and are intended to drape over the edges of the wearer""s panties in the crotch region. Thus, the flaps are disposed between the edges of the wearers panties in the crotch region and the wearer""s thighs. Commonly, the flaps are provided with an attachment means for affixing the flaps to the underside of the wearer""s panties.
The flaps serve at least two purposes. First, the flaps prevent exudates from soiling the edges of the wearer""s panties and second, the flaps, when affixed to the underside of the panties, help stabilize the napkin in the undergarment and prevent it shifting out of place. Typically, the flaps extend only from a central region of the sanitary napkin rather than along the entire length of the sanitary napkin. This enables the flaps to more easily conform to the curved contours of the crotch region of the undergarment. That is, since the crotch portion of an undergarment is curved, the length of the flaps cannot extend along the entire length of the napkin since they will not effectively wrap around the panty crotch.
Sanitary napkins having flaps are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,687,478, entitled xe2x80x9cShaped Sanitary Napkin With Flapsxe2x80x9d, to Van Tilburg on Aug. 18, 1987, U.S. Pat. No. 4,608,047, entitled xe2x80x9cSanitary Napkin Attachment Meansxe2x80x9d, to Mattingly on Aug. 26, 1986, U.S. Pat. No. 4,589,876, entitled xe2x80x9cSanitary Napkinxe2x80x9d, to Van Tilburg on May 20, 1986, U.S. Pat. No. 4,285,343, entitled xe2x80x9cSanitary Napkinxe2x80x9d, to McNair on Aug. 25, 1981, U.S. Pat. No. 3,397,697, entitled xe2x80x9cDisposable Sanitary Shield For Undergarmentsxe2x80x9d, to Rickard on Aug. 20, 1968, U.S. Pat. No. 2,787,271, entitled xe2x80x9cSanitary Napkinxe2x80x9d, to Clark on Apr. 2, 1957 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,900,320, entitled xe2x80x9cSanitary Napkin With Undergarment Gathering Flaps, to McCoy on Feb. 13, 1990, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
As the wearing of thong style undergarments has recently increased, there has also been a need for disposable absorbent articles to be adapted to these types of undergarments. WO 00/72790 A1 discloses an absorbent article which is intended to be worn in a thong undergarment. The absorbent article has a wide end and an narrow end to conform to the shape of a thong undergarment and is provided with fastening tabs in the narrow end of the article. One of the problems with this design is that the narrow end of the absorbent article has a tendency to shift laterally as a wearer of the article moves. Due to its width, the rear section of the napkin is mechanically less stable than the wider rear section of a conventional sanitary napkin
It is an object of the present invention to provide a sanitary napkin having flaps that is adapted for use in a thong style of women""s undergarment.
In accordance with the present invention, there has been provided a sanitary napkin adapted to be worn in a thong undergarment comprising a central absorbent pad, the central absorbent pad having a liquid pervious cover layer, a liquid impervious barrier layer and an absorbent core between the cover layer and barrier layer. The sanitary napkin has a pair of opposite longitudinal side edges defining therebetween a width dimension, a first transverse end and an opposite second transverse end defining therebetween a length dimension. The sanitary napkin has a longitudinal centerline, a lateral centerline, a first distal end region, an opposite second distal end region and a central region intermediate the first distal end region and the second distal end region. The sanitary napkin further having a flap extending laterally outward from each longitudinal side edge in the central region along a line of juncture, the line of juncture defining the length of the central region, each flap being adapted to fold over a crotch portion of the thong undergarment in use. The width of the absorbent core varies along at least a portion of the length of the absorbent core such that the width of the absorbent core in the second distal end region has a maximum value that is greater than a maximum value of the width of the absorbent core in the first distal end region. The absorbent core in the first distal end region has a length measured intermediate the central region and the first transverse end, wherein the maximum value of the width of the absorbent core in the first distal end region does not exceed 40 mm along any portion of the length of the first distal end region, the width of the absorbent core in the first distal end region does not exceed 30 mm along at least one half of the length of the first distal end region and wherein a ratio of the length of the first distal end region to the maximum width of the absorbent core in the first distal end region is less than 2.
These and other objects of the present invention will be more readily apparent when considered in reference to the following description and when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are provided for purposes of illustration only and not as a definition of the boundaries of the invention, for which reference should be made to the appending claims.